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Strap Freaks!!!

Hazing

And So It Begins... Again
9/5/19
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There are some awesome pics in this thread.

How about a touch of blue. A few Simona, a few gen Pam rubbers and the rep. (I wasn't originally planning on putting this here specifically at the time).

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Edited because tapa published the same Pic 3 times.


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Last edited:

Blshh

Renowned Member
2/6/19
531
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There are some awesome pics in this thread.

How about a touch of blue. A few Simona, a few gen Pam rubbers and the rep. (I wasn't originally planning on putting this here specifically at the time).

ac5a6c51f0cdb3162fb05b8c8536bf5c.jpg
3167064d150e89b58c826d1273a6e7ff.jpg
6371b14fc9f34c77ec7b36bbb092b6fa.jpg
088e76a4986db970b1e1b3aabb8bc9b5.jpg


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These good for Monday:D:D
 

Swiss_goupil

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7/12/19
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Last Kingdom
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The other side, less exciting (except there is a dark blue rubber strap for the Beast... which I do not own lol)


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Woundup

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9/12/18
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Thought I'd add a simple tutorial to this thread for those that might care....

I've been messing around over the past couple of years with straps that I bought or came on watches that I wasn't overly happy with - actually this started with the croc strap that came with my new/gen 88....

My go-to product for softening leather is Obenauf's leather oil - I also found that it will alter the tome and the color of some leathers.

I recently bought a lovely Simona 26/26 croc strap for my 569 that looked a lot different / darker in the pictures; when it arrived it was a boring honey brown color that I wasn't keen on. So, I set about my typical process to alter the color to my taste & thought I take pictures to share.

Starting point:
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I always start the process with cleaning the straps with a mild soap and water, followed by heating them with a hair drier - this helps for the oil to soak in properly. Make sure to test a small area on the inside of the strap to make sure you like the color its going to develop - I use the area around the fixed keeper.
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Heat the straps again and then quickly spread a liberal amount of oil evenly along each strap, then heat them again. You will see the oil start to penetrate from the grain (cracks) inward through the larger grain areas.
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I continue to apply heat every 15 minutes or so and also massage the straps with my fingers - pushing the oil into the areas furthest from the cracks. After about an hour it looks like this.
IMG_0278.JPG


Another hour and the straps are ready for a good wiping / buffing with clean micro-fiber cloths and mounting to the watch. There will still likely be a few stubborn areas (see between the lugs) but they will fill in. In my experience, the color will lighten over the next few weeks, but not by much. I much prefer the strap now....

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Now a gorgeous chestnut / burgundy color and incredibly soft.....
 
Last edited:

superspark69

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22/10/18
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Sheffield, UK
Great tutorial :) another quick tip for darkening and adding a little patina to leather taps is plain cheap coconut oil, the type used for cooking etc. Just rub it on and leave 24 hrs. Will darken it a couple of shades a time, plus it doesn't smell bad....... unless you don’t like coconut.
 

Hazing

And So It Begins... Again
9/5/19
5,186
4,445
113
Great tutorial :) another quick tip for darkening and adding a little patina to leather taps is plain cheap coconut oil, the type used for cooking etc. Just rub it on and leave 24 hrs. Will darken it a couple of shades a time, plus it doesn't smell bad....... unless you don’t like coconut.
It's interesting because when you say coconut oil I think "the stuff you use for lube". I guess it really can be used for anything. Lol

And posting about matching leathers in the wristies thread (and if you're interested in seeing some of the kinkier stuff some of these good leather craftsmen make, let me know) made me remember the custom distefano belt and hand made removable Panerai style buckle.
21455c5d8ef4152c1bb7760cd76e2c61.jpg


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Kandinsky

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Fun fact:
The 26mm straps also ports perfectly onto a 44mm Apple Watch strap connector...

Is that actually blasphemy?

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Kandinsky

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Yeah, so the emoji obviously doesn’t work above. That was supposed to be a laughing emoji because, OF COURSE it is blasphemy!!


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